What to do during the super long Hawaii to Japan flight time

I think a lot of people underestimate how far it actually is to fly from Hawaii to Japan. The flight from Hawaii to Japan (depending where you leave from and what part of Japan you are landing in) is about 8 to 8.5 hours. This is not an insignificant amount of time for many travelers. For comparison, flying from New York to London is only just over 7 hours! So what should you do during the long Hawaii to Japan flight time?

See? That’s pretty far!

So the Hawaii to Japan flight time is long… What do I do?

Download all the things!

Before you even set foot in the airport, make sure you have downloaded all of the podcasts, games, videos and movies onto your phone, tablet or laptop that you’re going to want to consume. Many podcast apps will make it easy to actually download those episodes directly to your phone so you won’t need internet later. Just last year Netflix made many shows and movies downloadable as well.

Have the power

Many planes still have no power at the seat. This means that you are out of luck if you have brought a phone or tablet to watch movies on. That’s why we highly recommend bringing a nice big external battery. We love Anker, as they make the most reliable external batteries around.

Get comfortable

Make sure you have the right clothes for a long flight. The first thing we recommend is a good pair of comfortable travel pants. We love the Prana Brion travel pants because it looks like just another pair of professional-looking pants. But they feel like you are wearing jogging pants. Win-win! Get a good comfortable t-shirt and a durable hoodie to make sure you don’t get too cold during the flight.

Merino wool sweaters and socks are a great idea for traveling

The last thing that is a good idea to pay attention to is socks. If you are prone to circulation issues while flying, definitely consider getting a pair of compression socks. Otherwise, we are big fans of merino wool socks for flights. Not only are they comfy and warm, but they also don’t get smelly very easily. So you won’t be “that guy” with horrible stinky feet when you take off your shoes. In fact, there are even merino wool compression socks!

Bring a carry on

Even for a long flight life this, I have taken just a carry-on bag. It’s totally doable if you pack well and are willing to be a little bit more minimal. It doesn’t hurt to have a really good carry on luggage either. If you have all of your stuff in the overhead bin then you can easily get to it if need be during the flight. Not mention how fast you will fly through security!

Get some sleep

8 hours is enough time to get some great shut-eye before landing in the land of the rising sun. And you’re going to want that so you can hit the ground running when you arrive. My biggest tips for getting sleep on a long flight:

Don’t drink alcohol if you can help it. Sure, it may make you nod off, but the sleep you are getting is of terrible quality if you have been drinking. Plus, alcohol dehydrates you, making you feel pretty crummy when you land.

Bring some ear plugs. You will have lots of little noises distracting you from sleep. So bring a good pair of ear plugs to drown out the sound in the plane.

Bring a sleep mask. These are a total necessity for me when I fly. They block out any light and allow you to sleep pretty much anywhere (even in the terminal).

Time your sleep for between meal times. There is nothing worse than missing breakfast because you decided to sleep at the wrong time.

Bonus tip: Make sure you get a good flight

Sometimes you can get flights that have the Hawaii to Japan flight time as much longer. This is generally because of connections and cheaper quality flights. We recommend TripAdvisor to book your next flight. They are one of the best companies for finding the best quality flights and are amazing with hotel recommendations as well. Use the widget below to start searching.